Wildcats Golf Team Evens Record at 3-3

The Bethel Wildcats golf team evened their record at 3-3 on the season with a 175-178 victory over Stratford at Rock Ridge Country Club in Newtown. The Wildcats were led by their top pair of junior captain Mike Kaluda and junior Brian Debacher. The pair each carded 42’s on the par 35 course. Stratford’s Tyler Figgis had the low round, shooting a 39.

This is the first year back for Coach Peter Barrett. Barrett started the Bethel golf team back in 1994, and coached until five years ago when he turned the reigns over to former coach John Popps.  “He was my assistant the last year I coached about five years ago,” said Barrett.

“The starting five are all returning players,” Barrett said. “They have all played varsity since their freshman year. They’re all juniors.”  

When Barrett last coached, he had 20-30 students come out for the golf team.  This kept the pressure on the top players to improve, and also served as a feeder system into the program.  As lacrosse has become more popular, his numbers have dwindled from when he last coached. 

This year, he had about a third of the number of players from five years ago. “These guys were the only few players that had experience,” he said.  “Hopefully we can get some more people out playing golf, and giving the sport a shot.” 

The 3-3 record is representative of the learning curve for golf. Consistency is key. “All of these guys are up and down, but they are all serious about their game,” Barrett said. 

“We played here yesterday, and we lost our match.  We didn’t shoot very well,” Barrett said. “These scores are eight strokes better than yesterday’s match.  Everyday is different, but I can see the progress they’re making.”

The starting five players have made incremental improvements from year to year. Barrett hesitated to call this a rebuilding year, but he feels it is more of a continuation of the improvement the team has made over their first two years. 

“The great part is that their scores are constantly coming down,” he said. “Each year, they’ve taken about 5-7 strokes on average off their scores each of the past two years.  If we can continue that into next year, we have the makings of being a powerhouse.”

While their record is even on the year, they still have yet to play some of the top teams in the league. “We haven’t played some of the big schools in the league yet. Newtown is shooting well.  Joel Barlow is a powerhouse team,” said Barrett.  “Weston is a powerhouse team this year.  They had a lopsided win against us earlier this year.”

Coach Barrett has high hopes for the team, including shooting for the SWC tournament.  “The SWC tournament takes eight teams.  They take the two top teams from the Patriot and Colonial divisions, and the next six best records.  Hopefully we can be one of the remaining six teams to make the tournament.”

 Rock Ridge Country Club     Par:  35

Bethel High School (2-3, 3-3)

Mike Kaluta

42

Brian Debacher

42

Henry Miller

43

Jack Moriarty

48

Aaron Zalcman

55

Total

175

Stratford High School (1-2, 1-5)

Tyler Figgis

39

Lyle Biddinger

45

Tom Nalezynski

46

Max Breiner

48

Mark Murray

52

Total

178